3.30pm BST

Brown 'will not play to gallery' over 10p tax rate

Gordon Brown has refused to bow to pressure from MPs and opposition parties to reverse the recent abolition of the 10p starting rate of tax, declaring that he "will not play to the gallery" on the issue.

Defending his decision, the prime minister told the BBC that removing the 10p tax band – introduced in his last budget as chancellor last year – was one of a package of measures in which, as a whole, low-income earners "were the biggest beneficiaries".

Dismissing criticism from some backbench Labour MPs, who claim that the measures are hitting over five million of the poorest households, he said he was taking the right "difficult long-term decisions".

He added that over the next few months people would see the results – such as a stable, low-inflation, low-interest economy with the lowest basic rate of income tax in 75 years.

But Labour rebels last night that they would step up their campaign to force a climbdown over the abolition of the 10p starting rate of tax.

Earlier, the prime minister told Sky News: "What we've tried to do is make sure that millions of people are better off as a result of the budget. But what I won't do and what the opposition parties continue to do is make false promises, uncosted promises, promises that they can't afford."

The prime minister said that the government was doing its best to help people in difficult circumstances.

"We are doing everything in our power to make sure that pensioners, to make sure that families with children, to make sure that low-paid workers, to make sure that everybody who is affected by global economic turbulence, is best safeguarded, best protected by the decisions that we take."

Brown's intervention was designed to stall a damaging Labour rebellion sparked at last week's meeting of the parliamentary Labour party, when he faced hostile questions about the abolition of the 10p rate, which hits low earners.

Rebels seized on a report yesterday by the Treasury select committee which warned that the changes had made "an unreasonable target" of childless people under the age of 65 earning less than £18,500 a year.

David Cameron seized on the report, pledging to reverse the abolition of the 10p tax band.

Accusing the government of "kicking people when they are down", the Tory leader said: "Now is absolutely not the time to be hitting 5.3 million families with an extra tax burden."

But the government did attempt to reach out to the rebels by expressing "regret" that some people would lose out, a change of tack from last week, when Brown declared that nobody would lose out as a result of the change.

Ed Miliband, the Cabinet Office minister, told Radio 4: "When you make a big set of changes in the tax system, some people do lose out. That is a matter of regret. Of course it is. But overall these changes make the tax system fairer."

Miliband added that the changes were part of a carefully balanced package of measures to help the less well-off. "When you look at the overall effect of the last budget there are 16 million households who gain and the biggest gains go to the poorest 30% of people in our society."

Labour rebels warned that the government would face a major rebellion when parliament returns from the Easter recess (which this year did not coincide with Easter) later this month if their concerns are not heeded.

Greg Pope, a former whip who tabled a Commons motion criticising the change, said: "There are conflicting signals from the government ... It depends what you ask.

"If the question is: 'Will the government reverse the 10p rate?' the message is very clear. 'We will not do that because it would cost billions.' But if the question is more nuanced and asks 'Will the government look at the adverse effects of the change on low earners?' then we might be on more hopeful ground.

"I am not trying to bully the government. I and many other loyal Labour MPs are dismayed where we are and are trying to find a way through."